FREEPORT - Considering the type of start to the game that the Freeport girls had against East on Tuesday, they certainly can't be disappointed with another conference victory - as visually displeasing as it was.

"I'll take an ugly win over an ugly loss any day," Freeport coach Cedric Jones said.

In a game that featured a combined 56 turnovers, the Pretzels (4-6) rallied from a 14-point second quarter deficit to beat East 53-51 and improve to 4-1 in NIC-10 play.

"It was just an ugly game all around, but we came out and got the win," Freeport senior Morgan Geiser said.

Geiser was a big reason the Pretzels were able to pull out the victory. Filling in for fellow senior Fiona Neary, who will be out until January, she posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds and helped her team come back from down 24-10 midway through the second quarter.

"She was huge tonight," Jones said. "Fourteen points and 10 rebounds, you can't ask for more than that from a 5-4 power forward. She was a catalyst tonight."

According to Jones, an odd start to the night might have played a role in Freeport's struggles, which began from the opening tip and lasted throughout the game, even though the Pretzels were able to rally.

"It was just a weird night because it wasn't normal," Jones said. "There was no JV game because there was a scheduling mix-up. We had to have the girls go home and get their uniforms and then come back and then sit and then wait. Once the game got going, it just seemed like we were out of sync. The first quarter just kind of spiraled out of control."

The Pretzels made just 3 of 14 first-quarter shots, including 0 for 9 from beyond the arc, and found themselves down 16-6 at the end of the period. The gradually drew closer in the second, thanks in part to East's inability to find success from the charity stripe. The E-Rabs made just 4 of 15 shots from the foul line in the quarter. Freeport drew to within 31-26 by halftime and took its first lead of the night with a 6-0 run to start the second half.

"We knew we were the stronger team so we just needed to get it in our minds that this is our home court, we can beat them, we just needed to show it," Geiser said.

Freeport led by as much as six early in the fourth quarter before the E-Rabs fought back with six straight points to tie the game. The lead changed hands three more times before the Pretzels won it from the foul line, albeit not easily. Lexi McCabe accounted for the game's final three points by hitting 3 of 6 from the charity stripe in the final 1:37 while East missed its final foul shots, allowing the Pretzels to hang on.

Page 2 of 2 - "Everybody contributed just enough to get this win and it was a big win for us," Jones said. "It'd be nice going into the Christmas break with a 5-1 conference record."

Freeport will have that chance Thursday when it hosts Jefferson in the Pretzels' final game before the break.